Day (after Day) in the Life of the Useless - Black Swan State Theatre Company

Reviewed by Kate O'Sullivan

---

There is something deeply unsettling about watching a play where the worst thing that can happen does—and then somehow gets worse. Day (after Day) in the Life of the Useless, the latest work from writer and performer Will O'Mahony, embraces that premise wholeheartedly, delivering an absurdist comedy that is as laugh-out-loud funny as it is quietly confronting.

Directed by Adam Mitchell for Black Swan State Theatre Company, this ambitious new Australian work follows Pete, an ordinary man whose increasingly disastrous existence unfolds across 35 episodic chapters. Think The Stanley Parable, Shaun of the Dead and The Truman Show colliding with existential dread, and you'll have a sense of the wonderfully off-kilter world O'Mahony has created.

Mitchell maintains an energetic pace throughout the uninterrupted 105-minute runtime, balancing slapstick misfortune with larger questions about identity, usefulness and what it means to be human in an increasingly automated world.

O'Mahony delivers a nuanced performance as Pete, portraying a man paralysed more by inertia than circumstance. He never quite becomes an actively driving force in his own story, instead serving as a passive recipient of the world's cruelty. While this occasionally limits the emotional stakes, O'Mahony imbues Pete with enough vulnerability and dry wit that we never entirely lose sympathy for him.

The supporting ensemble is outstanding. Tess Bowers, Nathaniel Langworthy, Catherine Moore and Steve Le Marquand effortlessly transform between dozens of characters with remarkable precision, impeccable comic timing and seemingly endless energy. A particularly clever touch sees each performer retain a signature colour throughout their many roles (Langworthy in red, Moore in purple, Le Marquand in yellow and Bowers in blue) providing a subtle visual anchor amidst the delightful chaos.

The production design embraces theatrical imagination over realism. A towering digital screen, oversized geometric forms and cascading fabric become offices, kitchens, cliff faces and countless other locations through inventive staging. Costumes reinforce the play's heightened reality with deliberately mismatched shoes and imperfect styling that quietly evoke the glitches and inconsistencies of artificial intelligence.

Comedy is unquestionably the production's greatest strength. O'Mahony's script is packed with sharp observations and absurd situations, while the cast consistently land every joke. Even as the repetitive structure of "new scene, new disaster" begins to feel familiar, the anticipation of meeting each bizarre new character keeps the audience thoroughly engaged.

Where the production doesn't quite reach the same heights is in bringing together its larger ideas. Drawing on familiar absurdist traditions, the play examines human worth in a society increasingly driven by productivity and AI. These themes are compelling and timely, but the eventual payoff feels less satisfying than the production seems to promise.

The play opens with Pete contemplating suicide atop a cliff before returning to this moment near the conclusion. In one of its darkest comic moments, even this final act is interrupted by another would-be jumper impatiently asking Pete to hurry up or move aside. It is a beautifully absurd sequence that appears to complete the play's circular structure. However, the script continues for several additional scenes, diffusing much of the dramatic tension it has so carefully built.

Similarly, the AI narrative that ultimately seeks to unify the story never entirely lands. The climactic revelations rely heavily on subtle callbacks, while the blurred line between reality, imagination and artificiality occasionally muddies rather than clarifies the play's central message. The ideas remain intriguing, but they never quite coalesce into the profound emotional statement the production seems to be reaching for.

Even so, Day (after Day) in the Life of the Useless is a bold, inventive and deeply funny piece of new Australian theatre. Supported by an exceptional ensemble, imaginative design and Mitchell's assured direction, it delivers an entertaining evening that provokes as many questions as it answers. It may not fully realise its philosophical ambitions, but its willingness to grapple with them (and to find humour amidst humanity's imperfections) makes for a memorable and rewarding theatrical experience.

Image Credit: Daniel J Grant